Here’s How One Business Quadrupled Its Sales in a Flat Market

Matthew Fenton Chicago Brand Strategy
(Reading Time: 6 minutes)

For many leaders of smaller businesses, sustainable growth can be difficult to conjure up.  If that sounds like you, I’d like to introduce you to a company that should give you hope.

Consider these results:

  • This company has averaged 19% compounded annual growth over the last 8 years.
  • This company doubled sales in one five-year period, and nearly quadrupled sales in eight years.
  • Notably, this growth was earned in a mature segment, not an emerging or high-growth segment.

And they did it without relying on any “secrets,” gimmicks or silver bullets.

Intrigued?  Let’s get to know them a little better.

Continue reading “Here’s How One Business Quadrupled Its Sales in a Flat Market”

So You Want to Build Your Brand?

(Reading Time: 4 minutes)“I want to build my brand!” declares Tom confidently.

I ask Tom what he means, exactly. I’m pretty sure I know what to expect, and he doesn’t disappoint.

“I want my company to be the one everybody knows – the one that leaps to mind when they need products like ours!”

Sally’s goal is to turn her product into a brand. For her, branding is all about sales: “The stronger my brand, the more I sell,” she explains. Continue reading “So You Want to Build Your Brand?”

Two Kinds of Companies

(Reading Time: 3 minutes)It’s happening, and it’s happening right now. At this very moment.

It’s happening in board rooms, in grocery stores, online and a million other places: Companies are either getting better at making customers happy, or they’re getting worse. None stay the same.

Somewhere, there’s a VP of finance who convinces her CEO to reduce staff in the customer service center to hit the annual budget. Both execs are aware that doing so is good for their stock options, at least in the short term.

Somewhere else, there’s a CEO who recognizes just how critical his customer service department is. He knows that, in many cases, that department provides the only human point of contact between the company and its customers. So he hires carefully, trains thoroughly, rewards properly and defines jobs intelligently. Continue reading “Two Kinds of Companies”